chefmaison

Four days in Alghero, Sardinia

My husband had been invited to a conference in Alghero, Sardinia and I decided to join him. It was for us a trip down memory lane. Thirty years ago we had visited Sardinia together as uni-students. We remembered Sardinia as a quiet island, where tourism had only reached some of the coastal areas. In villages … Lees verder →

OMG, I came closer to Jan van Eyck! An optical revolution in Gent, Belgium

Visit: Walk in Bruges – Your private guide in Bruges This year ‘Gent’ and ‘Jan van Eyck’ will often be named in the same breath. The restoration of the lower and back panels of the Ghent altarpiece, also known as ‘The adoration of the mystic lamb’, that started in 2012 is finally finished and this … Lees verder →

The old Saint-Johnshospital where you step 800 years back in time. A place where the world seems to slow down.

Visit: Walk in Bruges – Your private guide in Bruges As an art and history lover, the old Saint-Johns hospital dating back to the 12th century, one of the oldest hospital buildings in Europe, is one of my favorite museums in Bruges. Every tourist visiting Bruges gets at least a glimpse of the outside, but … Lees verder →

Potsdam for the second time

We had seen most of the highlights of Potsdam on our first visit a few years ago: see my blogpost: We had seen the Sanssouci park with the Chinese teahouse, Charlottenhof palace, the Roman baths, and the Friedenskirche. We visited the Sanssouci palace, the picture gallery and the Neues Palace on the inside, biked passed … Lees verder →

Picos de Europa walk – Bajo los Picos in Mogrovejo

After a really good experience in 2018, we decided to return to Picos de Europa in 2019. We booked the same hotel: Hotel del Oso. We only came a bit earlier in the season, the last week of May instead of the third week of June in 2018. We feared the weather might be bad, … Lees verder →

Chocolates, Waffles, Beer, Fries and traditional biscuits

Visit: Walk in Bruges – Your private guide in Bruges Most tourists will consume at least one of these five specialties when visiting Brugge, and you should, because they are all typical Belgian, and we are proud of it. We Belgians love chocolates, waffles, beers, fries and speculoos. But we are also picky when it … Lees verder →

Berlin for the third time

This year I visited Berlin for the third time. Berlin is like Madrid one of my favorite cities in Europe. This third time around it took a bit more time to prepare an itinerary. We had visited all the usual suspects on our previous visits and it was the middle of winter, so I had … Lees verder →

48 hours in Vienna

As a fan of Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, Vienna was high on my list of places I must visit. So when my husband asked if I wanted to join him on his trip to Vienna, Schiele immediately sprang to mind. A colleague also mentioned the temporary exhibition of Pieter Breughel the elder that ran … Lees verder →

(Public) transport Bruges – How to get to Bruges and how to get around.

Visit:Walk in Bruges – Your private guide in Bruges Because of Covid 19 the use of face masks is compulsory on all public transport and in taxis! It is recommended to wear face masks in shops and museums and all other locations where it is difficult to keep enough distance. Although the best way by … Lees verder →